Dinner 17: Mouthwatering Steak, Poutine and Roasted Broccoli
A delicious grilled cut of steak, paired with Poutine (a delicious mountain of gravy and cheese curd covered fries) and a bowl full of slightly crispy peppery roasted broccoli is sure to satisfy everyone gathering at your table.
Winter is a time to hunker down by the fire and eat that comforting food that we all crave. This meal covers all of the bases. We live in the desert southwest, so grilling is year-round for us. For those of you who’s grill is buried under a foot of snow or you just don’t have a grill, this meal will be just as delicious in the pan seared version as the grilled version.
To begin, take whatever cut of steak you prefer out of the refrigerator about 30 – 45 minutes prior to cooking to warm to room temperature. This allows your steak to reach a temperature that is closer to where you will be serving your steak. Otherwise, the outside of your steak will be seared and hot while the inside will be cold and raw. Or to get the internal temperature up to a medium-rare, the outside will be burnt. Season your steak as soon as you take it out to warm, by rubbing your steak with olive oil and then salt with a good quality Kosher or Sea salt. Cover and set it aside.
(I found a really interesting article from Steakschool by Stanbroke – The “Perfect” Steak preparation by Four Experts.)
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
Next, cut your broccoli into nice sized florets. I prefer cutting them into bite sized pieces. However, whatever size you choose, try to make them as uniform as possible, as this will help ensure that they all cook evenly. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. Place broccoli on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Depending on how much broccoli, use anywhere from 2 tablespoons – 1/4 cup of olive oil. Toss the broccoli and olive oil with your clean hands, (fasted and most thorough instrument for this job.) Finally, sprinkle with salt and pepper. We use Lawrey’s Seasoning Salt at our house. Set aside.
Line a second rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Throw your frozen french fries on the tray and pop in the oven. Bake to package instructions, usually around 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, add your butter to the pan for the Poutine gravy. Add the flour, stirring for about 3 minutes. Add the broth whisking until all lumps are removed. Let thicken.
At about 20 minutes before serving, put broccoli into the oven. Half-way through cooking (10 minutes) if you do not have a convection oven, you will need to switch racks that the french fries and broccoli are on. (If french fries are on top rack to begin, switch them to the bottom and move the broccoli to the top)
Cooking the steak: The steak will need the least amount of time to cook. If you have a 2″ thick prime rib, it will need 4 minutes per side in a hot pan or a hot grill. Cooking time on a Traeger Grill (like we do) it will take about 20 minutes total. For the stove top method, you will need a heavy skillet such as a cast iron skillet. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Place your steak in the skillet. Add any herbs such as rosemary or thyme to the skillet when you add the steak. While the steak is cooking, spoon the herbed butter mixture over your steak. After four minutes flip your steak. Add the garlic now and continue to baste the steak while it cooks. Finally, remove steak at your desired doneness. (instant read thermometer is your friend)
If you are grilling, flip steak halfway through.
Remove steak from heat and tent with foil for 5 minutes. Spoon some of the herbed butter over the steak just before serving. Or if you have grilled your steak, top each steak with a pat of butter. Or for more flavor, some herbed butter.
Take your Fries and broccoli out of the oven. Place broccoli in a serving plate. Place fries in a large casserole dish. Distribute the cheese curds overtop and place back in oven for 5 minutes to warm them. Remove from oven and spoon the gravy over top.
Enjoy this delicious dinner!
Poutine
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp water
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 20 oz beef broth
- 10 oz chicken broth
- Pepper to taste
- 1 bag frozen french fries
- Toppings:
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese curds (Or torn chunks of mozzarella cheese would be the closest substitution)
Instructions
- Prepare the gravy: In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns golden brown.
- Add the beef and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk. Stir in about HALF the cornstarch mixture and simmer for a minute or so. If you'd like your gravy thicker, add a more of the cornstarch mixture, in small increments, as needed, to thicken. Season with pepper. Taste and add additional salt, if necessary, to taste. Make ahead and re-warm or keep warm until your fries are ready.To Prepare Poutine: Add your fried or baked fries to a large, clean bowl. Season lightly with salt while still warm. Add a ladle of hot poutine gravy to the bowl and using tongs, toss the fries in the gravy. Add more gravy, as needed to mostly coat the fries.Add the cheese curds and toss with the hot fries and gravy. Serve with freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.